Bioengineer wins $500,000 engineering prize

The National Academy of Engineering has announced that Yuan-Cheng "Bert" Fung will receive the 2007 Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize, a $500,000 award recognizing engineering achievement that significantly improves the human condition. Fung, a professor emeritus of bioengineering at UC San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering, was acknowledged "for the characterization and modeling of human tissue mechanics and function leading to prevention and mitigation of trauma."
Previous recipients include inventors of the first human heart pacemakers, kidney dialysis, and biosensors that enable open heart surgery and diabetes patients to self-monitor glucose levels.

Y.C. Fung's research is the basis for automotive safety design. He very well deserves this award and I wouldn't be surprised if he received a Nobel Prize in the future.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-01/uoc--bw010507.php